What is a financial clarity review?

A focused look at what is actually driving your numbers. We start from a business question you already have, follow it down through the financial signals to the underlying drivers, and come back with what matters and what to do next. It is analysis aimed at a decision, not a report.

How is this different from what my accountant does?

Your accountant answers what happened and whether it is recorded correctly. That work is necessary and this does not replace it. This answers what the numbers mean, what is changing underneath them, and which of those changes should worry you. Different question, different output.

What do I need to have ready before we start?

Whatever you already have. Management accounts, a P&L, bank statements, whatever spreadsheets the business runs on. Part of the value is finding out which of the numbers you rely on can actually be trusted, so arriving with imperfect records is normal rather than a problem.

See what the numbers are actually telling you.

When something in the business doesn't make sense, we look beneath the headline numbers to understand what is actually driving performance.

Start with what’s happening →

Any of these sound familiar?

Revenue is up. But profit isn't.

Cash tightens. Despite growth.

Margins changed. Without a clear explanation.

A major decision is coming. And it needs better analysis.

A question, followed all the way down.

Business question
What are you actually trying to decide?
Financial signals
What do the numbers show on the surface?
Underlying drivers
What is really moving those numbers?
Risks & trade-offs
What could this cost, and what are the options?
Next decision
What should happen next, and in what order?

What we look at.

Cash · Margins · Growth · Unit economics · Forecast

Questions we are usually asked.

Where is cash actually going?

What is driving margin changes?

Can we afford to hire?

What happens if growth slows?

Which part of the business performs best?

Which assumptions should we challenge?

Decision laboratory

Growth is not always progress.

Move one assumption and watch what a delay does to your runway.

Revenue arrives 0 months later than planned

0123456

Runway left14.0 months

Comfortable. You can absorb a bad quarter.

How long does the money actually last?

The slider above is a demonstration. The calculator works from cash you have actually collected and holds back the statutory dues already owed, which is where most runway estimates go wrong. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.

Open the runway calculator →

If this already describes your situation, there is no need to read to the end.

Start with what’s happening →

A clearer picture of what matters next.

You bring

A business question.

We find

The financial drivers, risks and trade-offs.

You leave with

A clearer view of what matters and what to do next.

What you have now

Reports
Dashboards
Spreadsheets
Open questions

What you leave with

A clearer view of the situation
The drivers that actually matter
Risks that need attention
Priorities for the next decision

Before you get in touch.

When the figures are right but the reading is wrong

None of these are mistakes in the books. They are the places where accurate numbers still point you the wrong way.

Profitable on paper, tight on cash: Profit is recognised when it is earned; cash arrives when it is collected. Growing businesses fund the gap themselves, which is why the strongest months can feel the worst.
Revenue is up, margin is quietly down: A rising top line hides a falling contribution margin for longer than most founders expect, because the total keeps improving while every unit gets worse.
One customer segment is carrying the average: Blended figures average a profitable segment with a loss-making one and describe neither accurately. The decision usually depends on the split rather than the average.
Costs look fixed until they are not: Spend that scales with headcount, volume or support load is variable in practice. Treating it as fixed makes every growth plan look cheaper than it will be.
The forecast was never testable: A plan built on assumptions nobody wrote down cannot be checked when it misses. Knowing which assumption broke is more useful than knowing the number was wrong.

When the question is about margin

Unit economics and pricing reviewContribution by customer, product and channel, and what a price change would really do.Hiring cost calculatorWhat an employee actually costs in India, and what the hire does to runway.CAC payback calculatorFully loaded acquisition cost and payback measured on contribution, not revenue.Break-even calculatorHow much you have to sell to stand still, and what a price rise can afford to lose.Free unit economics templateContribution and payback by segment, CAC by channel, and a cohort grid.Default alive calculatorWhether you reach break-even on current growth before the cash runs out.Collections calculatorWhat your customers are holding, and what a shorter cycle would release.Free collections trackerInvoice ageing that updates itself, buckets, DSO and a chase ladder.Cash conversion cycle calculatorWhether the balance sheet can fund the growth in your plan.Utilisation calculatorWhat an hour of your team earns after unsold hours and unbilled value.

Worth reading first

The questions founders ask us most often about this, answered in full.

Why does growth need more cash than it produces?9 min read What is gross margin in a services business?8 min read How should we price a fixed-price project?8 min read

All insights →

Tell us what’s not making sense.

Start with what’s happening →